Minty Image

by mintgreenconspiracy

Chapter 4-1: Meet the G4 ponies!

Rainbow Dash yawned loudly, rising slowly from her sleep. "Such a darling, rainbowy day!" She exclaimed, with a smile. Zecora's potion had done wonders for her sleep (not to mention the dream catcher -- from the old country -- that the old shaman had given her; claiming it would "ward away bad dreams so that you will, no longer, scream!") No more nightmares and no more weird dreams just happy, dashing sleep.

"It's today!" Rainbow said to herself, greeting the day with a warm smile. "I suppose I should go wake up that darling, Pinkie!" She said to herself, thinking about all the activities she had planned for the day. Maybe she would see if she could finally get some work done on a nice hat or a scarf for their darling host. Or maybe she could make a kite or two -- she had, after all, been meaning to resurrect her kite shop (and her kites, back home, were getting a little dusty right now.) Of course, she was sure Zecora had some more things for them to fetch from the forest; nevertheless she was feeling eager to get out -- despite the fact that there are no rainbows in the forest.

Rainbow, gingerly walked over to the pile of blankets on the other side of the small room they were in, and gently tapped her friend on the shoulder. "Pinkie: it's today!" She said, with enthusiasm. "We should go see if, our darling friend, Zecora is up, darling." She said, smiling to her friend as she started to stir.

"Rainbow!" Pinkie said, with a yawning sigh. "It's too early to be getting up! And I'm pretty sure you're not a morning person!" She said, sarcastically, before finally getting up -- she was tired, but not that tired. The good news for her, though, was that her nightmares had gone away at about the same time that Rainbow's had. This meant, of course, that no further action had needed to be taken -- and she was just happy to be dreaming about pink, pink, and more pink again. So after another yawn, she opened her mouth. "So Rainbow Dash, you think Minty's doing any better?" She said, with a smile.

"Well, Shall we see, darling?" Rainbow asked, with effervescence, as she pointed towards the other room. "Let's see if that darling, Zecora, is up!"

Walking into the other room, they could see the old Zecora was, indeed, already stirring, and was preparing some kind of a oat porridge in the cauldron. "Hello! I'm surprised you're up already; I was certain your eyelids would be heavy." She said, with an understated smirk.

"Well, darling, I thought I would get the day started, early!" Rainbow said, with a sunny smile. "So that I could possibly get our, darling, errands done early, and I could have some time to do something special for you, our darling host!"

The old shaman gave an understated smile. "Ahh! So my potion did its job! You sleep, now, like a log!" The old shaman said, her smile turning into a smirk.

"Oh yes!" Pinkie said, with a giggle. "And Rainbow's feeling more like her 'darling' old self." She said sarcastically, gesturing extravagantly, with a giggle.

"Oh, darling!" Rainbow said with a gesture and a chuckle, waving a hoof herself. "So Zecora, darling, what are you fixing? It smells dashing!" She said, smiling at their host.

Zecora smiled. "I've fixing oats, I hope you are hungry as goats!" She said, with a smirk.

"So, darling!" Rainbow said. "What do you need us to fetch for you today, darling?" She said, with a smile. "I'm looking forward to getting out of the hut!" She said, with enthusiasm.

"Oh! And I'm hoping to make a fourth puzzle hunt victory!" Pinkie said, smirking at Rainbow Dash. "Puzzlemint will be so very impressed!" She said, with a smile.

"Oh no chores today! In the hut you will have to stay!" Zecora said, with a smirk. "The doctor comes today, and with your friend you all should stay!"

Pinkie smiled ear to ear. "Does that mean?"

Zecora nodded. "You're friend is doing well! But only the doctor, for sure, can tell!"

"Ok!" Pinkie said, with a smile. "That sounds Pinkie keen! So when is the doctor going to arrive?" She said, enthusiastically.

Zecora smiled. "There's just enough time for our breakfast to heat, and if we hurry, to eat!"

********

After a short while, a clopping sound could be heard in the distance, as the old doctor approached. "Ready or not here I come." He said to himself, with a deep, deep, frown. "This had better be important! I had hoped not to ever have to set hoof back into the Celestia forsaken Everfree Forest ever again!" He said, approaching the door. He decided to loudly rap on it. "Either 'Princess' Twilight had better be right, or the body better be buried deep!" He said, rolling his eyes. "Bumpkins!"

The old zebra smirked to herself, silently, before opening the door. "Do please come in! The patient lies within!" She said, beckoning with her hoof.

"Oh shut up!" The old doctor scowled, giving the zebra the stink eye. "Let me see the body doctor Frankenhoof!" He said, lightly pushing the zebra aside. "Where have you buried her?"

Zecora's eyes showed a little agitation for a second, before she smirked again, subtly. "She's in my bed! Maybe -- " (The zecora had been, naturally, sleeping on the floor, but she hoped that once the green pony was better, never more!)

The doctor interrupted her, with his own smirk. "Maybe I'd like to see the body instead!" He said, showing himself to the shaman's bed. "Let me see how badly your ooga-booga magic has failed!" He said, walking over, expecting to get a dreadful smell, instead a voice could be heard.

"So doctor! When am I going to get out of here! It's boring, and I can't play chocolate checkers, and I can't stand on my head!" The mint pony said, with a frown. "And there's no green anywhere! Everything is brown!"

For a second, the old doctor was actually speechless. Maybe his diagnosis was flawed? It had to be! The only other option was that he was wrong about the witch doctor's abilities, and he wasn't about to do that!

In any case, he had a patient to examine. "Well this is going to tickle!" He said to the mare, firing off a spell to get an idea of the pony's state. Much to his chagrin, it appeared that she was healing well. Bone transforming from bone chips and powder, to almost fully healthy tissue. Maybe there was something to the Zecora's magic after all.

"Actually I'm impressed." He said, choking out an uncomfortable smile. "It looks like she's healing quite well."

The Zecora only smirked.

"Well the good news, for you then, is that I'm going to send the colts to take her to Ponyville General, so we can finish her up there." He said, his smirk returning. "I think tomorrow, or the next day, I'll have the knuckleheads come here to transport her somewhere less spooky." He said sternly.

"Are you sure it's ok for him to take Minty away?" Pinkie said, with apprehension. "I mean you're doing such a good job, Zecora!"

"I think it's for the best, or my hut's resources she would, eventually, test." The zecora said, with a frown. "It's not, for her, good to sleep in a hut. She should sleep anywhere but!"

"Yes, darling, the doctor just wants to make sure she's going to be ok!" Rainbow said, with a reassuring smile. "Besides, darling, she needs to some space to be herself --"

"And more green!" Pinkie said, to herself, with a chuckle.

********

Zecora smiled. "So what do you contemplate, as you sit and vegetate?" She asked her green friend, still wrapped in bandages.

"Hey Zecora, I know you said that I shouldn't be upset, but I am anyways. I was just thinking about what I did to everyone's Christmas -- not just once, but twice!" Minty said, with a frown -- sobbing silently.

"It's ok to be sad, but of much you still have to be glad." The wise Zebra responded.

"I suppose..." Ponyville's green machine said, with a smile. Followed, by a stray thought. "That's it!" She said to herself, her smile growing into an ecstatic grin. "We'll do Christmas all over again! We'll have a do-over Christmas! And we can decorate, and Cotton Candy can make coco! And Sweetberry can make more cookies, and Twinkle Twirl can bring everyone back together for carols!" She said, with enthusiasm.

The Zecora only waved with her hoof.

"Yeah I know it'll be hard, cause Christmas was a week ago." She said, with a chuckle. "But we could make it Christmas in January! And I could go on a dangerous adventure to find Santa again! And I could bring him back and -- "

Zecora smiled slightly, and spoke with slight sarcasm. "I don't believe this is a good plan, is this not how you ended up in a jam?"

"Ohhh!!! Right!" Minty said, with a smile. "Well maybe I'll go on a non-dangerous adventure to find Santa! And I'll make sure to bring Pinkie along this time! And we'll find Santa, and he'll make it Christmas again!" She said, with glee, mentally stamping her hooves together. "Oh... wait!" She said, stopping her own thought process. "But how will I do it if I'm still sick, and won't I be weak for a while?" She said, with a sigh.

The Zecora only winked. "If you promise to be safe, more potions I will make with haste! You know what would make the best gift -- "

The green pony smiled. "Of course! I know exactly what you mean!! I can give everyone Fruit Cakes! Right?" She said, with glee, once again planning gifts for everyone.

The Zecora simply shook her head, with a bemused smile.

"Socks?" Ponyville's green machine asked.

Zecora simply smiled, keeping her laughter to herself.

********

"You ok Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie asked, with a frown. "You've been looking out the window all afternoon." She said, looking at the most fashionable pony in Ponyville sitting like a lump twiddling her hooves -- looking like a sad sack.

"I should be happy, darling, I really should!" Rainbow said, to Pinkie, with a frown. "But I keep getting the feeling that what happened to that darling, Minty, was all my fault!" Rainbow said with a sigh. "And then it just had me thinking about my oh so un-dashing nightmares, darling!" She frowned again. "Truth be told, I feel like they've been trying to seep out for days, despite the darling potion that, that darling, Zecora gave me!" She said, shifting her seating position. "And I feel like I've been just horrible to you too!" She said to the pink pony sitting beside her, apologetically.

"Oh Rainbow!" Pinkie said, trying to figure out what her dashing friend meant. "I have no idea what you think you did wrong, but I forgive you." She said, with an honest smile. "Remember: 'after Christmas, we'll just laugh and laugh! Can't stop Christmas from coming!'" She said, to Rainbow -- shaking her head -- hoping to remind her not to worry (and parrot some wise words she said to her Mint green friend, a little over a week ago.)

"I suppose, darling." Rainbow said, reluctantly. "I think some sleep will also help." She said, laying down in her pile of blankets, while Pinkie went to her pile on the other side of the room.

After a short time, Rainbow began to sleep. And despite three days of Zecora's better efforts, the dreams came anyway.

She found herself, walking along the road out of Ponyville, accompanied by her friends, Cheerilee, Scootaloo, StarSong, Toola-Roola, Sweetie Belle and, of course, Pinkie Pie. She could tell the clouds were lifting, allowing today, to be positively perfect. For whatever reason, Pinkie had decided to blindfold everyone for some surprise, she was planning to show them outside of town. For some reason, in her dream, it seemed like a good idea to walk forward wearing a dusty old blindfold, walking along towards lord knows what.

"I can't see a thing." StarSong said, with a smile. Eager to find out what surprise Pinkie had in store. "I hope it's something super fun!"

"Me neither!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed innocently. "I should've brought cookies!"

"Pinkie Pie! Where are you taking us?" Cheerilee asked, barely avoiding a case of the giggles.

After a short while, Pinkie began to speak again. "Just a little further!" Pinkie exclaimed, causing everyone to speed up slightly.

"Ok! Stop!" Pinkie said, causing Scootaloo to stop suddenly. Causing Cheerilee to bump into her, followed by Toola-Roola, StarSong, herself, and finally Sweetie Belle.

Everything was starting to go black! The poison was starting to move to its final outcome, despite her better efforts. Wasn't she just blindfolded? "I have to do something! Dulcamara and the others are on their way, and I'm in no condition to fight any one of them, let alone all four." She said, with a sigh. All of a sudden, her vision returned, only to find herself, staring eye to wall with some kind of magical barrier. She was, once again, a scary, unfashionable bug pony -- she could sense it. But there was no time for that now as behind her, quickly catching up, were the meanies from her other dreams. She had to move quickly, but how do you move through a brick wall? "How do I move through a wall Discord set up to keep ponies out?" She found herself asking, herself. "I'm guessing it's to ensure Minhoof-Tierhoof will remain desolate forever!" She lamented. "Even if I enter, I won't make it, but maybe the children can."

Dulcamara could be seen quickly approaching, in full changeling form.

"I hope this will work!" She said to herself. "Imagine this barrier! What is it missing? Change your magical energies to move in sync!" She said to herself.

"What's she up to?" Dulcamara asked herself, out loud. As she peered down on her old rival, Lady Rainbow. "She's attempting a transformation with that poison rushing through her systems! What a fool. And why that ridiculous form?" She asked, as the rainbow maned changeling began to shift into a fashionable cerulean changelicorn version of herself -- complete with pastel rainbow mane.

Dulcamara motioned the other three assassins to circle the other two sides of the runaway princess as well as her escape from above. "It's over now!" She said, cockily. "This blight on the hive ends now!"

"I hope this works!" Not Rainbow said to herself, pushing against the wall -- which seemingly began to wrap around her. This, however, proved to be a mistake, as even in her dreams, she could sense how much this hurt. She could feel her everything crying out with a feeling like she was being burned alive. But she had to hold onto the foals at all costs! They had to make it through, even if she didn't!

And just like that, she was blindfolded again, smelling StarSong's plot (not the most pleasant thing ever!)

"I promise you the best day ever, didn't I?" Pinkie asked, with a smile, and a giggle, taking a breath to speak again.

However, instead Scootaloo responded back sarcastically, as she always did. "You did! But it's a dud!" She said, sounding very upset (and none too confident of Pinkie's best day ever!)

"Well maybe you should think again!" Pinkie said, with a smirk. "Because you may now remove your blindfolds!" She said, with indomitable enthusiasm.

Of course she had to do as Pinkie requested, tossing off her blindfold -- to an inky blackness.

"Were you expecting something?" A strange mix-and-matchum-up creature inquired. "Standing over her shoulder.

She looked around, why was this place so empty. And who or what was this creature standing over her? And was it even real?

"I bet you are wondering why this place is so empty? " The creature said, with great pride. "Well I just finished a season, and so the place had to be closed for renovations!" It hissed. "You see I have a cycle going on here! And every pony plays their part for the better of -- " He said, waving a rainbow over his head. "Discordtopia!" It said, with a smirk.

"Discord!" She hissed, talking to a pony she had never met. "You're supposed to be a giant lawn ornament! You can't be real"

He simply smirked, ear to ear -- laughing slightly -- wrapping himself around her, and putting his claw on her shoulder. "Hey babe! Here I'm as real as I need to be! And I wouldn't be so haute, considering that you three are trespassers here! " He said, suddenly dressed like Barney Fife. "Maybe this would make my point! You see your little friends over there!" He said, opening a view port through the black sky where they just entered.

Outside, Dulcamara was seething. "Unacceptable! The Lady shall not get away again!"

"Relax!" Said a young Solanaceae, finally joining his mentor, and the other assassins."How could we even get in there? And to top it all off, it looks to me like she just got turned into space dust! I feel we can safely leave now!"

"NO!" Dulcamara hissed. "She's in there somehow and I'm going after her!" She said, concentrating her energies. "There's someone in there that somepony loves! And I'll take their form." She said, transforming into an odd looking Puzzlemint with a small snout.

"Now watch what happens when she tries to sneak her way into 'Discordtopia'!" The draconequus hissed. "This should be great!" He said, suddenly wearing nothing but fifties 'three-d glasses', and holding a bucket of tofu. "Oh wait..." He said, looking at the box of 'healthy foods' he was holding in his claw. Frowning slightly, he snapped his claw. "Now! This should be great!" He said, suddenly holding, instead, a bucket of popcorn (with extra artificial butter).

"Now I simply need to push my way in!" Grunted Dulcamara, as she spoke her last words, beginning to push. In a split second, something that looked like the flashing of a bug zapper could be seen all the way from Canterlot.

Rainbow looked on with horror. "What just happened to her!" She shrieked, about ready to vomit. "What did you do to her?"

Discord chuckled. "You see: " He chuckled. "That's what happens to intruders!" He smirked. "Now I don't know how you three managed to break into my little universe egg, but I think you should be leaving the same way!" He chuckled. "Unless..." He said, holding his claw to his face in a thinking pose -- his face contorted into a very sadistic expression.

"Whatever it is! I want no part of it!" Rainbow grunted, trying to hold her cool, despite the raging poison. "So if you will excuse me!" She said, trying -- unsuccessfully -- to walk away.

A buzzing sound came out of Discord's mouth, as he was suddenly dressed like Alex Trebek. "I'm sorry that answer is... incorrect..." He said, holding out an answer card. "The correct answer is:... 'I'm going to join the G3 phonies'." He said, now appearing again, as himself -- materializing from the darkness, grin first, chestier cat style.

"You see I have this giant game of ' Ponyville Adventure Game' -- " He said, holding up a tin box with a pink celebration castle, a rainbow road on it, and pictures of Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Toola-Roola, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Cheerilee, and StarSong on it. "And I have assembled all of the pieces, from Abra-ca-dabra to Yours Truly -- and even some not even on the list." He said, holding up miniatures of all of the ponies from Breezie Blossom, Unicornia, Butterfly Island, and Ponyville -- and even places beyond, including some she had never met.

"Actually! Shouldn't there be only seven pieces? I mean there are only seven on the box!" Rainbow Dash said, with sarcasm, looking for a way out.

"Actually this is the deluxe edition complete with background ponies without any name!" He said, grinning ear to ear. All of a sudden, Discord shook violently, gasping horribly. Before melodramatically opening his mouth. "But I seem to be missing four very important pieces!" He said, holding up a Star Catcher miniature, a Pinkie Pie miniature, a Minty miniature, and a Rainbow Dash miniature. As he melodramatically held his claw to his head. "However will I survive! Whatever shall I do!" He said, borrowing Rarity's fainting couch. "Oh wait!" He said, looking at the Star Catcher piece. "I never liked this piece anyway!" He said, throwing it over his shoulder, as it exploded violently.

After a few seconds, his expression grew ominously sadistic. "But wait! I see three perfect actors." He said, waving over the Rainbow Dash, and the two bug pony foals under each of her wings. "That would be perfect for these roles!"

"I mean here's a green one!" He said, pointing at bug foal Minty. "The pink one." He said, pointing at baby bug foal Pinkie. "And the Rainbow one! So basically you three are going to take those roles."

"Don't you know imitation is ! -- " Rainbow started, trying to dissuade the mad lord of chaos.

"Yeah I know! The best form of flattery! So time is Chaos!" He said, ripping the foals from under her wings using magic. "Shall we get started!"

As he began to slowly close in, she shrieked. "You leave them alone!" As she releasing a beam of almost all the magic she had.

He simply held out his claw, and the magic beam blew up into baskets of glitter.

"Oh Rainbow Dash! We already have a Sparkleworks! See!" He said, holding out the real full sized Sparkleworks -- her face still distorted in terror -- as well as the miniature. "So you can skip the audition, because we don't need another!" He said, before Sparkleworks -- and her miniature -- disappeared back into the darkness. "And because you are supposed to be an earth pony now, you don't need those wings or that horn!" He said, her horn and wings disappearing with a snap of his paw.

He tapped one hoof against each foal's head, causing them to slowly lose their color.

"No!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "You leave them alone!" She hissed, charging at him with all her might. She might not have magic or flight, but she could, and still would, fight. She could barely trot though, because she was so dizzy from the poison...

"Stay with me Rainbow!" He said, with a chuckle. "I don't want to have to wait around another thousand years or two for another stand in to be found!" He said, laughing uncontrollably to himself. "So why don't you have a seat!" He said, as the aether beneath her, swallowed her legs, preventing her from moving.

"Now let me show you a funny little trick I stole from a very handsome stallion somewhere!" He said, chuckling at all three ponies, as he began to rhyme (on a dime). As the foals began to be forcibly morphed into a form (Ok Pinkie just lost her teeth, and her shriveled wings and horn -- but Minty wasn't so lucky.)

"Let's have some fun!
after all, my day's just begun!
Of love you won't feed!
Of Brains you'll have no need!
Your body contort!
Your mind will distort!
In G3 you'll stay!
Oh happy day!"

********

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Rainbow screamed, as she awoke with a start, seeing only a field of green before her eyes. Her everything hurt, and it felt like her body was full of electricity.

On the other side of the room, Pinkie began to stir. She yawned, loudly, before looking over to see what the matter was. What she found, was Rainbow Dash, looking outside the window depressed, rocking back and forth. "You ok Rainbow? I heard you scream." She said with a frown, before yawning noticeably. "And it woke me up!" She said, sounding slightly agitated.

"I'm terribly sorry, darling. I just had another nightmare!" Rainbow said, with a sigh, looking out. "And now I'm thinking about how long it's been since I've seen -- let alone ridden -- any rainbows, or made a new outfit, or anything." She said, sighing. "And everything was going along so dashingly too!"

Pinkie frowned, before going into reassurance mode. "Remember Rainbow!" She said, waving her hoof. "Bad dreams come and go! But -- "

"True friendships remain!" Rainbow said, her frown unmoved. "I know, darling; but, right now, I'm having trouble believing that myself!" She said, sighing.

Rainbow rocked for a few more minutes before turning over, and attempting to go back to sleep.

Pinkie sat there for a second, thinking. "Maybe Zecora could help!" She thought to herself, walking over to the next room. " Zecora would know what to do!" She said to herself, expecting to find the Zecora asleep. Instead the zebra was sitting up, listening to Pinkie's green friend snore.

"What brings you up so late? Were you the one who's sleep wasn't great?" She asked, with a frown.

"No!" Pinkie said, with a sigh. "That was Rainbow Dash." She said, looking at the Zecora again. "She just had another nightmare."

Zecora sighed, and looked puzzled. "I had hoped, her bad dreams, my dream catcher would snare. But apparently, her sleep, will be difficult to repair." The wise zebra said, thinking to herself. "Tell me, what does your friend like to do? Name to me, more than a few!"

Pinkie sat down on her plot, her legs jetting out. Taking her normal thinking position. "Well she likes Rainbows! Lots and lots of Rainbows! And she knows everything about rainbows!" Pinkie said, as the wise zebra nodded, instinctively. "Oh and designing things! And she loves to help decorate, and help stage our events -- though party planning is more my thing. She's been the host more than once."

Zecora was still nodding, but it was obvious she was waiting for something else she could use.

"Oh and fashion! She adores fashion! And painting her nails! (Oh wait that was another Rainbow Dash)"

At that point, Zecora's face lit up, as the wheels in her head began to form a plan. "For now, please sleep. I have a plan, your friend's nightmares not to repeat!"

********

Pinkie woke up the next morning. It had been a pretty uneventful sleep. Yeah, she had had a strange dream, where mama pie was carrying her through a wall, but overall a reasonably good sleep. Rainbow, though, looked like she was still in a bad mood. "You ok, Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie asked, with a concerned frown. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Oh, darling, I'm fine." Rainbow lied. "I'm still stewing about that dream from last night though!" She said, with a frown. "I simply can't believe the dreams I've been having." She said, looking away, her frown deepening. "So undashing!" She said, looking downwards.

As she was talking, though, Zecora showed up, furnishing a smile. She winked discreetly at Pinkie. "Rainbow Dash, there's no time to mope! You've got to have hope. You've been here a week! It's time to earn your keep!" She said, brining out a list of things she needed. "This list I need you to heed. I have a few ingredients, from Ponyville, I need!" She said, as all three ponies faces filled with confusion.

"Darling, we have to go all the way back to Ponyville, but it's three days by balloon, darling!" Rainbow said, trying to divine what the Zecora meant.

"No it's nearby, as long as by the path you travel by!" She said, giving them a map. "Follow this map, and you won't need to pull the route to Ponyville out of a hat." She said, continuing her rhymes.

"Oh! Of course!" Pinkie said, with a smile. "This town must be named Ponyville too! It really is a small world!" She said, to herself -- remembering the map they once had.

As Rainbow scanned down the list, her face filled with delight. "Oh Darling!" She said, looking as enthusiastic as Pinkie. "You need a 'Nightmare Night' costume, darling! Now, darling, I don't know what that is -- but I'm certain that it means there's a boutique in town! How rainbowy ravishing!" She said, restraining her desire to stomp her hooves in glee.

Zecora smiled. "Remember you pony folk, the forest is not a joke! Stay on the path, lest you need to beat the beasts back with a staff!"

Rainbow nodded. She remembered the timberwolf attack a few days before. And planned not to repeat it.

Excusing themselves, they started to travel down the road, towards town. However, it quickly became obvious that they didn't know where they needed to go, or how to get there.

"Darling!" She said to Pinkie. "Are you sure we are going the right way?"

Pinkie shook her head slightly, squinting at the map. "I think so! But I'm not certain. I'm having trouble reading this map!" She said, with a frown. "I hope I figure it out soon!"

Comments

[RDDash]

The story is so difficult to read, I can't understand what's happening.